Neighborhood Destination Bayfront meetings start this week

Meetings start Thursday in Flour Bluff

CORPUS CHRISTI - Those who missed earlier Destination Bayfront meetings still have the chance to give input on the bayfront's future in a series of meetings in different neighborhoods. Meetings in City Council districts will begin this week with two meetings in District 4.

Residents on Padre Island and Flour Bluff can attend a meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday held at Real Life Fellowship Church, 1241 Flour Bluff Drive.

Another meeting is set for 6 p.m. on Sept. 2 at First Christian Church, 3401 Santa Fe Street. Anyone can attend the meetings, but the group plans to hold meetings in each council district. Meetings in other areas of town have not been scheduled yet.

The meetings will give residents information about other destination public parks that leaders want to emulate and allow them to give input on what they'd like on the open bayfront land where Memorial Coliseum was.

Destination Bayfront is a grass-roots group of local business leaders who want to see the 26 bayfront acres where the coliseum was developed into a mixed-use public space. Ideas for development have included playgrounds, dog parks, farmers' markets and splash areas.

Destination Bayfront held its first citywide meeting July 28. Organizer Trey McCampbell said the neighborhood meetings will be shorter versions of that brainstorming session.

The community input will be used by a consultant to develop a site plan for the land. The final plan is expected to go before the council in mid-November.

Destination Bayfront is paying for the study with anonymous donations.